Hôtel de Bourgtheroulde

If you're attending the 2013 Impressionist Normandy Festival starting this month in Rouen, check out the 78-room Hotel de Bourgtheroulde.

The 15th century Gothic-style stone mansion is a French Renaissance masterpiece located within walking distance to the old market square and Rouen Cathedral, where visitors can sign up for Impressionist painting classes.

The rooms and junior suites are varied in size, divided into traditional and modern categories. The traditionals feature blonde oak paneling and repro Louis XIV chairs. I like the contemporary accommodations for their chic white minimalist layouts.

The Restaurant d’Aumale is considered the best in Rouen, complemented with the more casual 2 Kings Brewery brasserie and a spectacular 2-level lobby bar with temporary painting exhibits upstairs. Large glass panes in the floor running through the middle of the bar peer down into the pool below at the 8,000-sf Spa du Drap d’Or.